Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
CA 02430636 2003-05-26
UNIVERSAL ELECTRICAL ENERGY SAVER
BACi~CGROUND OF THE iNVENTiON
Field of the invention
This invention relates generally to electrical and electronic circuitry
devices but more
particularly to a device which reduces electrical energy consumption in an
electrical
circuit.
Background
Ever since the price of energy skyrocketed in the ~t 970s, inventors have been
busy
coming up with various ways to save energy. Since a lot of the electricity we
use is
produced by way of fossil fuel, the very same source of energy which has
increased
so much in cost, the cost of electrical energy production has followed the
pattern. It is
no surprise then that a number of inventions concern themselves with the
economy
of electricity.
There are many ways of saving electricity but this instant invention concerns
itself not
so much with making appliances more economical but rather with increasing the
efficiency of the local electric grid, i.e. the electric circuit of a unit
such as a house or
building. A similar approach has been taken by some of the prior art studied,
for
example
1
CA 02430636 2003-05-26
Patent 5,528,123 by Hutchison discloses a power circuit for supplying
electrical
energy that comprises a power factor corrector, a current sensing transformer,
a
rectifier bridge, a capacitor and a pow~:r factor corrector control loop. The
current
sensor measures the total current drawn by both the DC power supply and the AC
loads, and the power factor corrector corrects tote!! line current drawn from
the wall
plug through the power cord so that it approaches a unity power factor, i.e.
the
current being sinusoida4 and in phase with the line voltage. ~nly when
equipment is
plugged directly into one or more of the invention's power outlets that energy
savings
occur.
Patent 5,583,423 by Bangerter presents an electronic apparatus and methods for
AC
power regulation primarily intended for inductive loads ~fiuorescent lights,
motors,
etc.). The apparatus provides substantial reduction in podver consumption
while also
providing a leading power factor, reduced harmonic distortion, and reduced
noise.
The system is self adjusting for a wide range c>f loads and can reduce power
consumption by 25% in lighting loads. The system utilizes a triac and parallel
capacitor bank in series with the load. The capacitor absorbs the inductive
tum-off
voltage spike caused by the collapsing magnetic field in the ballast. This
invention is
ideal in a large manufacturing plant setting, a wharehouse or office building
where a
large amount of fluorescent ligths are used and where large electrical motors
or
2~
transformers are used and is therefore not useful for residential housing.
Patent 5,754,~3~ by Walker describes an apparatus and methods for AC power
regulation for a wide range of complex capacitive and inductive loads which
provide
2
CA 02430636 2003-05-26
substantial reduction in power consumption while also providing a leading
power
factor. This patent seems to be an improvemerst over the previous patent. The
apparatus includes a power measurement circuit, a current measurement circuit,
a
phase measurement circuit, and a capacitor bank. This system is used mainly
for
lighting, both fluorescent and incandescent.
Patent 5,808,454 by Chung exposes an alternating current power control device.
The
device having a constant voltage function for maintaining a constant output
voltage
although an input voltage is varied, if a desired voltage is set in respect to
a load,
t~ thus providing a power saving effect, power stability and reliability. The
device
includes a single-winding transformer, a phase comparison controller, a
variable
resistor, a current comparator and a mutual induction reactor.
Patent 5,880,677 by Lestician discloses a system for monitoring and
controlling
electrical power consumption that can be retrofitted to a typical consumer
power
arrangement. The system includes a control unit which receives information
from an
electromagnetic pickup device from which real time electrical consumption is
determined over short periods of time. The control unit can then send signals
to
diverse modules that have filters which release electrical power to the
individual
electrical devices, appliances and outlets at a controlled, economic rate. The
modules are a combination of a circuit coupled with a seri~;s of electronic
metal oxide
varistors. The modules will save energy by reducing and filtering the
naturally created
harmonic noise in an electrical device. The harmonic noise is not only
reduced, but
the module also balances the electrical phases of the device it is
controlling. The two
~5
CA 02430636 2003-05-26
functions can reduce the electrical consumption of most electrical devices by
15 to
35%. A module may include the following components : a microcomputer control
chip, a relay switch, a conditioning circuit, a capacil:or, an inductor, and a
metal oxide
varistor. ~niy appliances directly connected to one of the control units can
benefit
from the system.
Patent 6,252,311 by ilVest presents a load sensor and controller manager. 'The
apparatus is well suited for managing numerous appliance loads commonly found
in
residential dwellings. When loads are delivered to certain appliances, loads
to
different other appliances are delayed. the invention provides a
sensorlcontrollerlmanager module capable of detecting initial current flow
across a
load's openlclose switch. 1'he invention can actually cut power to certain
appliances
in order to daisy their start in order to eliminate power usage spikes.
The above cited prior art suffers from certain limitations such as the type of
equipment from which energy saving carp occur or the fact that the equipment
has to
be directly connected to the energy saving units or even the risk of delaying
the start
of certain appliances in order to control electrical flow.
SUMMAf~Y OF Ti~iE INVENTION
A first object of the present invention is to provide a Universal Energy Saver
SUES)
system that is plugged in a single conventional electrical plug outlet.
4
CA 02430636 2003-05-26
A second object of the present invention is to provide a Universal Energy
Saver
(UES) that absorbs power losses from domestic electrical home appliances and
lights.
A final object of the present invention is a Universal Energy Saver (UES) that
acts as
a voltage stabilizer for the normal flow of incoming electrical current
supplied by the
power utility company.
In order to do so, the present invention includes an electronic capacitance
circuit
to board, a transformer, a protection circuit board and a resistor for
electrical
consumption toad.
The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of this invention
will
become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a
preferred
embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein the preferred
embodiment of the invention is shown and described, by way of examples. As
will be
realized, the invention is capable of other and different embodiments, and its
several
details are capable of modifications in various obvious respects, all without
departing
from the invention. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be
regarded as
illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
2~
s
CA 02430636 2003-05-26
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EME#ODlMENT
FlG. 1 schematic view of the circuit board.
FIG. 2 diagram of installation in a typical household circuit.
FIG. 3 graph showing 1 year actual electrical consumptiore in a test household
without
IS
2~
the UES.
FlG. 4 graph showing 1 year actual electrical consumption in the same
household the
following year with the UES.
FIG. 5 diagram of the circuitry.
DETAILED DESCRIPTfON OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
FIGS. 1, 5 This schematic view of the circuit board of the UES (10) shows the
main
components which are
A bank of condensers (12) connected in parallel, a bank of 6 resistors (14)
with R1
aid R2 connected in parallel while R~, R4 and R5, R6 are connected in series
as
seen more particularly in FIG. 5, a transformer (16) to step down the voltage
to 12
VAC strictly to power up a small electronic circuit board ('18) which serves
to absorb
the lost power and protect the rest of the circuitry against overload. Other
components include a power switch (20) a power on LEG (22) an overload warning
light {24) and a line (26) that plugs into an ordinary outlet, which is how
the UES
connects with the rest of the circuit in order to affect the power savings.
6
CA 02430636 2003-05-26
The UES (10) works by accumulating a large amount of electricity into its
condensers
{12) thus providing available power when there is a surge in demand such as
when
an appliance starts. Also, since incoming electricity from a utility company
is not
always regular, having surges and dips and all kinds of variations, the UES
(10)
alleviates those variations. Also, because of the nature of alternating
current and the
way it interacts with various components, particularly those having induction
as well
as transient interference and electrical wiring resitance, a.ll these factors
combine to
create power losses of which about 90% can be recuperated by the UES.
t Q EIG. 2 This diagram shows where the UES (10) is situated inside a typical
household
circuit (23). The UES (10) can be plugged into any single outlet of a
household after
the circuit breaker panel {30) and its effect will be felt throughout the
circuit (28). III
other items connected to ar~y other electrical outlet {32) benefits from the
UES (10).
FAG. 3 This graph shows 1 year actual electrical consumption in a test
household
without the UES (10). The dotted line {34) shows ithe average consumption over
a
one year period.
FtG. 4 This graph shows 1 year actual electrical consumption the following
year in the
2~ same household with last year's average dotted line (34) for reference. A
second
Power dotted line shows the average with the UES (30). It is interesting to
note that it
can take as much as six months for the UES to become fully functional, It
appears
that the overall conditioning of the circuit (28) makes the appiances better
tuned. This
effect is somewhat surprising and has not been fully studied.
7
